Harry Potter was
by VaingloriousHound
Summary: A long shot of H/G, written in Ginny's perspective with a slightly different Harry. Years 2-7.


**Harry Potter was...**

Harry Potter was a year older than me. He went to school the same year my brother Ron did. It surprised everyone and shocked many out of their chairs but he was sorted into Slytherin. Ron said they tried to re-sort him again but the sorting hat refused, saying that it made no mistakes.

A lot of articles in the Daily Prophet depicted him as the next Dark Lord in coming and as Voldemort reincarnate. For a time, it was funny, so Ron said, but I never found myself amused by these things. He was after all the boy who lived, a hero. He couldn't be evil, he saved us all. I remember that I always red the stories about him when I was young. It made me sad that he had lost his parents and I swore myself I would be his friend so he wouldn't have to be alone anymore. His first year was a mess, or so I was told.

He killed a troll, beheaded it, and saved a Gryffindor girl's live. That didn't help his reputation at all, he was made to appear even more as a dark spawn by the newspapers. Then there was this strange event I only ever heard about years after it. Harry killed a teacher, reducing him to naught but dust. No one ever heard of it, Dumbledore wouldn't let that slip. The philosopher's stone was hidden within Hogwarts and Voldemort - via possessing Quirinius Quirrell - tried to steal it.

After Harry had overheard Snape, the Slytherin head of House, talk to the DADA professor about it, he knew something was afoul. And Harry being Harry of course tried to protect the stone. It ended with him crawling through some stupidly easy tests and then facing the possessed Quirrell. The man just died from touching Harry. Somewhat anticlimactic.

 **HPxGW**

Harry Potter was quiet. Really quiet. Not mute, but he just didn't talk. Not back then. It was weird meeting him. And a real shock. Ron didn't mention that he never spoke after all. Then again, that evening other things were on my mind. I was sorted into Slytherin. It kind of hit me real hard that I, a Weasley, was sorted into the house filled with the most blood purists and muggle haters there was. And all of these families viewed us as blood traitors.

I was afraid, terribly scared but while I sat there mutely and nearly crying at the end of the table, Harry sat down besides me. He sad not a word, just silently waited through the sorting and his presence alone kept all the other Slytherins away from me. Still, he didn't talk and even after I somewhat calmed down the silence made me very uncomfortable. The feast began and I just didn't know what to do until a plate of food was gently placed in front of me. I blinked in surprise. Harry Potter had served me food? That was when I first looked up into his face.

Harry Potter was absolutely blank faced. He showed no emotion, nothing. The fact that he didn't talk and that his face never really moved otherwise had him look so unreal. Hadn't it been for the fact that he blink every now and then, I would have mistaken him for a statue, with his skin so pale it stood out in stark contrast to his jet black hair. The only thing that really set him apart from a real-life statue were his eyes. So green, so bright, they appeared to be glowing and when I first looked into his eyes I just stared.

I think I gaped at him, maybe I even drooled, who knows, until he nudged my shoulder and motioned with his hands for me to eat. His face never even twitched. And so I mechanically ate. I tried to ignore the glares from the older students at the table but then I noticed that they suddenly stopped. Midway through the feast I noticed Harry staring back at those who glared at me and they immediately stopped. My stomach fluttered and when he turned back to me I just squeaked and nearly fell off the bench. Merlin that was embarrassing... Anyways,

Harry Potter was a friend of my brothers. That really surprised me, Ron never mentioned something like that. So I squeaked once more when the twins approached from behind.

"Hey there ickle Gin-gin!" Fred called out and slipped onto the bench to my left, pushing me closer to Harry. I just turned bright red. Ugh, why was that all so embarrassing?

"How's our little snake-y sis doing?" George laughed and slipped in besides Fred, nearly pushing me into Harry's lap. I found out later that they did that on purpose. Stupid gits!

Then Percy showed up, giving an odd lock to Harry who nodded. I couldn't tell what it meant before he talked to me. "Don't worry Ginny." I was surprised he didn't call me Ginevra, he always had before. "Harry will keep you out of trouble."

I just looked at him uncertainly. This whole affair was really strange to me. My brothers with a Slytherin? "How would you know?" I had meekly asked.

Then Ron showed up with a grin on his face. "The bloke doesn't talk but last year he saved Hermione from a big ass troll and cleared our names with that dragon situation. He framed Malfoy, it was bloody hilarious!"

Percy whirled around to him and I had to smile at Ron's squeak. "Ron!" he fumed, "You told me that wasn't you!"

Ron took this as his cue to leave the hall with Percy hounding him.

"Fear not Gin-Gin," Fred told me, "He may not seem like it but Harry here has helped out with our pranks. Mostly just covering for us. One sneaky bastard he is!" He laughed and slapped Harry's back lightly but the boy didn't react.

"Right Gin-Gin! Stick to Harry and you'll be fine!" George quipped. "Snake or no Snake, remember, you are our little sis!"

And with that they left. I was quite dumbfounded then and also so very happy, I sat there for like five minutes just staring after them, I didn't even notice Harry waiting for me to follow him. When I did stand I was surprised to see Professor McGonagall approach us.

"Miss Weasley, Harry," she greeted and my eyebrows rose when she addressed a student by his first name. She turned to Harry, "I hope you can keep her out of trouble. The Weasley name is not well liked in Slytherin and I can't see Severus do something about it. Good luck Harry."

I just stared at my new guardian and followed when he left the hall.

Harry Potter was incredible. Really, he was! I mean, he gave me this peace of parchment with a red splatter of ink on it. He used it to communicate with me! Whenever he wanted to tell me something the ink raced over the parchment and left behind his words. It was incredible. It was around that time that I found out that he was also taking his classes without ever saying a word. He was doing magic wordlessly! He showed me to the common room in the dungeons and brought me up to my room. The boys and girls were not separated, they simply all had their own room. Curiously enough,

Harry Potter was my only neighbor. Then he saved my life, like only seconds after I unpacked my trunk. I had asked him to show me the Gryffindor common room as well so he returned just as I held the old, leather bound diary of one Tom Riddle up high and inspected it curiously. I felt the odd pull, the compulsion to write in it, even without having done so before. And before I knew it, Harry snatched it out of my hand. I felt to urge to scream at him, take back _my_ diary but I swallowed it down. The parchment in my pocket, the one Harry gave me before, vibrated in my pocket.

When I took it I was amazed to see words appear and vanish all over again. But then they formed a name: Tom Marvolo Riddle. I had no Idea then who that was but then the letters rearranged themselves and spelled "I am Lord Voldemort". I just dropped the parchment and Harry dropped the book with an audible hiss.

At first I thought the hiss had come from Harry but then the noise came once again, this time from the book at his feet as it shuddered visibly and began to stain my carpet with ink. At the same time the scar on Harry's head began to bleed as if he had just received the wound. Alarmed and thoroughly confused I ran up to him and asked him what was wrong. But he didn't answer. His face was still absolutely blank but his green eyes seemed to glow and dim over and over again and whenever they dimmed I could see spots of red bleeding into the green of his eyes.

With a terrible shriek and another splatter of ink the diary suddenly lurched backwards, away from Harry and me, and slammed into the far wall of my room. I shriek in surprise. I had absolutely no idea what was happening then and if Harry hadn't shoved another piece of parchment at me, I might just have lost it. I looked at the parchment, saw the ink slowly trailing along the surface as if it was exhausted. "To Dumbledore" it read and I didn't argue. Harry slowly picked up the book and led me to the headmaster's office.

Harry Potter was my only friend for the longest time. After the mess with the Diary, Harry and the headmaster left to investigate something. When Harry returned he wrote me everything that had happened with his parchment. I still think that was the first time I saw something akin to emotion in his eyes. Anger. A piece of Voldemort had tried to possess me and Dumbledore questioned me intently where I might have gotten it. I had no answer to give but it was clear that the man had his suspicions. What shocked me the most was that Harry had apparently killed a 60 foot basilisk. I went to see the corpse years later because we needed the tooth but it was still hard to believe.

The year went surprisingly smooth aside from those moments I was caught by some Slytherins without Harry. I hated myself for depending on him so much and wanted to learn how to defend myself but Lockhart was just useless in that regard, as a teacher that is, so I couldn't count on getting anything useful out of that class. So I just asked Harry. Well, 'just' asked isn't exactly how it went. I struggled for about a week with telling him and it was in this week that I met my second friend, Luna Lovegood. Her housemates seemed to treat her a bit like the Slytherins treated me, tough the Ravenclaws did it because they found her strange while the Slytherins tried to bully me because of my family. She was a strange girl, very perceptive and had a strange way to express these observations but I liked her nonetheless. It was also her who told me to ask Harry to teach me. She did so in far more words and included a lot of creatures that indicated that I should but in the end I figured that was what she meant.

Harry Potter was my teacher. What a strange thing to say for an eleven year old about a boy just a year older that her, right? Anyways, after a very awkward session of stammering and sputtering I read on the parchment he gave me "I'd be glad to teach you, Ginny." That was also the first time he addressed me by my name, even if it was on parchment. It made me feel so giddy for the whole week! Thinking back about it I was such an embarrassment! Anyways, Harry began showing me spells which I could use to defend myself but he impressed upon me that I was to never ever attack anyone if there was no higher reason for it. That was when I began to regain my confidence. Spending time with Harry disillusioned me from those pictures painted in the history books and I came to see him as a friend. A friend I had a massive crush on...

 **HPxGW**

Harry Potter was staying at the Burrow! I think I chocked on my toast and jumped into the butter dish when Harry popped out of the floo. He saw it, of course, and I caught the sparkling mirth in his eyes even though his face was still void of any emotion. He help up a piece of parchment that read "You've got something right there, Gin." He indicated his own elbow and in a massive bout of embarrassment I fled the kitchen. One should have thought that after a year under his tutelage I wouldn't react like that but noooo I just had to make a fool out of myself. So I avoided Harry for the first day. I intended to do the same the whole summer but he wouldn't let me. He just cornered me and shoved one of those parchments in my hand. Around that time I seriously started to ask myself where he got all those from, he wasn't really carrying a bag with him.

Ever since it was like I couldn't get rid of him. Not that I ever wanted to get rid of him of course, but he seemed to be intend to spent every waking hour with me. It did take me quite a while to understand why. The first reason was, that he once saw me protecting a year-mate in Gryffindor from a bunch of sixth year Slytherins. He told me he was seriously impressed by me. And then he saw me comfort Hermione after Ron was being a prat once again. He told me I intrigued him, long way to say he liked me. And then, at the end of the summer he admitted that he _loved_ my magic. _Loved_ it. I just about fainted. He described it to me, that, whenever I did use magic, the whole room would be bathed in it's warmth. He described in as a feeling of elation he had never felt from anyone else before. Safe to say, I always glanced at him whenever I did magic in his presence and actually caught his eyes flutter once.

The summer was woefully uneventful, safe for that incident with a big black dog that startled us when we practiced spells in the orchard. Of course we found out in school that this hound had been no other than Sirius Black, escaped mass murderer from Azkaban. I still roll my eyes whenever I hear someone call that old perv a mass murderer. More like a mass heart breaker but that's a different story. So in my second year...,

Harry Potter was hunted by the man that had betrayed his parents. Or not. Really, it wasn't all that complicated. In the end it's always the butler- I mean, the inconspicuous one. Jeez, butlers scare me... Ehem! Now, Harry had to deal with the fact that his apparently murderous ex-godfather was hunting him down to finish the job and a horde of soul sucking monsters that guarded the school. The funny thing was, that about halfway through the year Dumbledore decided to tell us (Harry was insistent on including me, another giddy moment of mine) that Sirius was somehow not a traitor and was instead hunting for the real one. It did explain why Black had attacked the portrait at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. During the time we found out who the real traitor was, I fell in love with Harry. For real, not just some hero crush. It was when I made him smile for the first time.

Harry Potter was a brooder. He just was and will always be. So when Sirius attacked the portrait he entered his "You-need-to-stay-away-from-me-because-it-could-be-dangerous"-mode. And so, after he tried to avoid me for about a week, I blew up on him.

"Harry James Merlin-damned-git Potter!"

He froze like a deer in the headlights (I picked that one up after I got my license) in the middle of the common room. The other Slytherins mostly rolled their eyes or snickered at us but I completely ignored them.

"Don't you dare avoid me you prat!" I hollered at him. Gosh I made mom proud that day. Harry actually flinched! "You don't get to walk away from me! And if Lord Too-Dumb-to-stay-dead in all his inbred glory himself was after you, don't you bloody dare to avoid me!"

I marched up to him and students scrambled to get out of my way. I grabbed his collar a growled at him. "You aren't allowed to get your ass beaten, much less getting messed up alone! You picked me up last year now you got me, so don't you dare, Potter, don't you dare go all hero complex one me!"

And then his mask slipped. I was so close to him that no one could possibly have seen it but it happened. He smiled at me. I deflated instantly, so fast I think that it must have looked like I lost five inches in height.

"You- You-!" I sputter, flushing. How could a thirteen year old have such a handsome smile?

He nodded and took my hand. The smile slowly left his features and settled back into the blank mask he always wore but I could still see it in his eyes. I pouted at him and his lips twitched. "And you better don't do it again...," I mumbled as we left the common room.

Harry was proud to say that he fell in love with me when I kicked Peter Pettigrew in the balls. Thrice.

Yeah, not the most romantic thing to fall in love about but hey, he fell in love with me so what did he expect?

We found out that the man that had actually betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort was Peter Pettigrew, one of the three closest friends James Potter had in Hogwarts. Sirius was one of them. Turns out that Sirius, James, Peter and Remus Lupin (the new and actually capable defense teacher) were also the ones who had created the Marauder's map. We also found out that Remus was a werewolf and that the other three became animagi to keep him company during the full moon nights he would transform. And as it came to pass, Peter Petigrew's animagus form was a rat. A rat that missed a claw on one of it's front paws. Of course I knew that could only be Scabbers. The stupid rat was already ancient but up till then I never questioned why it just didn't die.

Sirius had been imprisoned after Peter blew himself up in a street full of muggle and cut his own finger off. There hadn't even been a trial! For twelve years the man rotted in Azkaban because of Peter. And because of Peter, Harry had lost his parents, was shipped of to his disgusting relatives and spent his childhood slaving away as their personal servant! Because of this piece of filth, Harry had become so recluse that he had stopped showing expressions, that he stopped speaking altogether!

So you might or might not be able to imagine just how angry I was when we followed Sirius out into the Shrieking Shack were he had brought the rat and was now cornered by Remus. Sadly the defense professor had not been let in on the revelation that Sirius was actually innocent. They had their wands trained on each other and were about to fight when a quick spell from Harry forced Peter out of his rat form.

When the sniveling, pathetic man began to wail on about how sorry he he was, how much he loved Harry and his parents, I kind of snapped.

"You!" A kick to his stomach. "Dirty!" Kick to his face. "Pathetic!" Kick to the bollocks." Sniveling!" Bollocks again. "Bootlicker!" I took a deep breath and the silence that lingered then was deafening but I didn't care. "Traitor!" I hollered and kicked his bollocks once again so hard that my foot hurt. A wet squelch sound and a strangled gurgling noise later, the rat had passed out.

I am ashamed to say that I had never ever lost control over my temper that bad before. It may have happened afterwards again but that was more than justified that!

Remus looked absolutely abash at my actions and Sirius, well, Sirius fell over laughing and wheezing at the sight of the passed out Peter with foam in front of his mouth.

To this day, Harry still teases me about that. He also mentions it to Ron whenever his head gets too big. Hermione also uses that tactic of "giving the traitor treatment" to him. It still sets Sirius of into a fit of laughter every time he hears it.

So when everything was sorted out and Remus and Sirius had a teary reunion and we were about to ship Peter the fastest route to afterlife shit went bad. The full moon rose and Remus had to admit that he had not taken his Wolfsbane potion. In the chaos that ensued with his transformation and us fleeing from him, Peter escaped. And then there were the Dementors.

Me and Sirius were separated from Harry when we fled from Remus and ended up at a small pond in the forbidden forest when they caught up to us. They swooped down over and over again, approaching mine and Sirius's face draining hope and luck right out of us. It was a terrible feeling, loosing the very warmth from my very core. I could feel the memories of me and Harry fading, feel my magic dim as my body grew cold. It was an awful feeling. I was barely conscious when I heard Sirius give a low moan from besides me. Above him hovered a Dementor and out of Sirius's mouth escaped a tiny ball of pure light, like a small star. It was his soul. Sirius was about to die, to have his soul taken from him. I couldn't move, my body wasn't responding and I could feel the same fate was approaching me as pure despair gripped my mind.

Then I heard it.

 _"Expecto Patronum!"_

Warmth washed over me like hot desert wind, and warped around me, returning the feeling to my limbs. The Dementors shrieked in agony as the white wave of magic washed over them and were pushed away. There, at the other side of the pond, stood a magnificent stag made of pure white light. It took only a second for me to realize that this was Harry's magic. This warmth, this power, It was Harry's. My eyes adjusted to the light and I could see him standing there, green eyes shining with power, his whole posture screamed of unyielding confidence and his face, by the gods or whomever out there, it was no longer the emotionless mask he wore all the time. It was a determined scowl, radiating the rage he felt when he saw those monsters attack us. He walked steadily forward, across the water without even crating a ripple. Light was constantly rolling off him in unwavering, powerful waves and with each that washed over me I felt more alive, more powerful.

The Dementors were still swarming us, throwing themselves at the domes of light that Harry was creating. For the first time I looked up to see that there were hundreds of these creatures in the sky above us. Harry's steps faltered a little as he came to stand besides me and I could see a sheen of sweat on his brow. I realized then that even though Harry was powerful, he was not able to keep this up for long. So I decided to aid him. I had never cast the spell before but I was there when Remus explained and taught the charm to Harry. I climbed shakily to my feet, the aftereffects were still lingering in my body but my magic felt more powerful than ever. I raised my wand and looked Harry deep in the eyes. An understanding passed between us that I will never be able to explain. And then I cast the charm the very second he recast his own.

 _ **""Expecto! Patronum!""**_

Now, my memories of this are a little hazy but there was nothing but white after I casted it. But I remember one thing: I did not produce a Patronus and Harry's did not reform after he recast it. No, they merged, they became more. Out of our two spells a majestic, golden phoenix was created. One eye of emerald green, the other a blazing red as it sang it's song. Something changed then, my magic and his morphed with another and it had a greater effect than I could ever have imagined. There my memory stopped but fortunately Harry could provide the rest.

After I passed out the phoenix exploded into a singular wave of solid gold, so unlike the white wall a Patronus usually produced. The solid magic destroyed every dementor it touched, reducing them to naught but dust in the wind. The wave of gold grew and grew, upwards more than outwards, and soon a pillar of golden light shone brightly over Hogwarts for about half a minute. When the light faded Harry collapsed same as me and we both woke up back in the hospital wing.

I realized much later that this had been the first time I had heard Harry's voice.

 **HPxGW**

Harry Potter was connected to me. Through our magic. Dumbledore theorized that my near loss of my soul and life, and then immediately casting a charm like that in proximity to the magic I owed my life to which was attempting the same charm as me had literally torn my core apart. The strange thing was that I remembered no pain or any discomfort. Quite the opposite actually. However, when our Patroni... Patronuses...? What the hell is the plural for that? Anyways, when our spells merged, our magic merged. We were quite lucky actually. Dumbledore told us that the Patronus charm was once before attempted in collaboration. The results were quite... explosive. It, whatever this connection was, was to be kept a secret. But while I was happy about this connection for reasons I didn't understand back then, I was absolutely euphoric about something wholly different.

Harry Potter was talking to me! Like, with his voice! I swear I fell out of my bed when I heard him say 'Good Morning' when he was tasked with waking me.

"H-Harry!" I yelped as I hoped onto my bed again and scrambled over it in order to look properly at him. My very first impulse was to ask him if he had really just said something but I wasn't stupid. So instead, after gathering myself for a startled second I simply smiled. "Good Morning!"

My smile must have been a bit too radiant because he blinked in surprised but then a small smile appeared in his lips once more. Merlin, I couldn't get enough of seeing him smile! And whenever he did, well, I could feel it. From his magic. It brightened whenever he did. I dunno how else to say it! It just felt good! For me... as well...

I didn't understand these feeling either back than. Emotional depth is something you gain over time and I was but thirteen by then. I was... fifteen? Or maybe sixteen when I came to truly understand what I was feeling. But that's all stuff for later. So, in the summer after my second year my dad got us all tickets to the quidditch world cup. We all would leave per a official portkey in the morning so I was already up at half past five, bouncing around in the parlor. Harry had by then already began to make us breakfast. He only dished something up for himself and me because the kitchen was my mothers territory and she disliked it being occupied when she was about to set to work.

We ate in silence, which was not really surprising, and once again scanned the Daily Prophet for news on Sirius. With the fact that Peter got away there was no hard evidence to get the Ministry to reopen the case. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Amelia Bones were currently trying to get Sirius a trial so he could testify under Veritaserum and at least be declared innocent. But that morning we found no news on him and before I could try and cheer Harry up a little the rest of my family clambered down the stairs, minus Ron, who had to be woken by the twins. Percy was already gone to crawl deeper into Barty Crouch's arse. Harry once again smiled when he heard me say that and I felt like my heart was about to leap out of my chest. This feeling is ever present and will never fade.

We met the Diggorys at the stump with the old boot that would serve as our portkey to the world cup camping place. I was surprised and also quite pleased to see that Harry was not at all out of breath from our hike there.

I still remember him being so sickly scrawny, it made my heart hurt. Wow, that was hella corny but, yeah. He was so pale, so skinny his ribs and collarbone stuck out sharply. Now, after a good year at Hogwarts and my mothers cooking, he filled out. His morning runs and vigorous wand exercises- Wait! I meant a wand for magic! MAGIC! You damn perverts... Anyways, he started to grow into a man. He shoot up like a rocket when he was fifteen... And how he looked with eighteen... Oh dear, I might have drooled a little-

Cedric was nice enough to meet, though he seemed to have it set into his mind to play big brother to all of us. He found out the hard way I didn't like it and Harry snorted when I told him to mind his own businesses (in a far more colorful way, my mother would have been ashamed). We parted ways with him and his father to get into out tent. I could tell that Harry was fascinated by the expanding magic on the tent. I also noticed that he was actually studying it, I never realized before. He was after all incredibly sensitive for magic and through this connection to him, I could tell. Over the course of the evening I could tell whenever he was hungry or thirsty, when he was bored or excited. It felt strange. It was a fact that just appeared in my head that I could state with the utmost confidence, like Lockhart is an idiot. He must have had the same impressions then through the connection because when I felt like I should get up and fetch me a drink, Harry held one out for me. My responding smile once again dazzled him enough to smile as well.

Harry Potter was a closet quidditch fan. When Viktor Krum caught the snitch, Harry was bouncing a little and I could feel he was about to break into cheers. I was sad to see that he still held himself back but also so glad that he was more outgoing every passing day. We even had a real conversation back in the tent! Giddy me nearly fainted. His voice was always quiet and so low, he must have had his voice break already. From the disuse it was so... raspy and... and... well, I thought it was sexy, even back then. I swear he could just talk me out of my knickers...- Ehem! Anyways, we really enjoyed the match, I truly can't remember how long we were there but at some point Ron got his wand stolen.

Sure enough, wannabe Death Eaters and some real ones started to harass the muggles that were present outside of the wards that shielded the campsite from view. We managed to get back to the tent and grab our things before we had to run for it. We lost dad and the twins in the chaos and ran into one of the real Death Eaters. I can't remember if it was Malfoy or Nott, either way, Harry banished him straight through a tree before we fled into the forest. When the Dark Mark appeared above our heads we knew things were going to be bad. And of course a house elf was found with Ron's wand who had been used to cast the Dark Mark into the sky. We weren't involved in the talks the Aurors and Fudge had with Crouch, dad ushered us away and we took an emergency portkey straight home.

I had a nightmare that night. Seeing all the fighting, the angry snarl on Harry's face when he banished that man, the screams, the fire and then the Dark Mark. Somewhere it took it's toll on me and I awoke with tears in my eyes. And most surprisingly, I awoke to Harry sitting at my bedside. He had woken me and promised to stay until I would sleep again. I don't think I ever had a nightmare again as long as Harry was near.

So there was going to be the Triwizard tournament that year. We were saddened that quidditch wasn't a thing but also very excited to watch the tournament. The excitement died when Harry's name was drawn from the goblet of fire. The whole school started to antagonize him, even though I knew that he didn't put his name in the goblet. I could feel it, I knew he didn't want this.

The first task came around fast enough and everyone was surprised at what happened. Harry was supposed to steal an egg from an Hungarian Horntail, a truly dangerous task but Harry got it done in under a minute. He talked to it. Not in English mind you, in.. dragon, I guess. We found out later that it was just Parselmouth. Good thing no one made the connection. Harry just asked the dragon if he could have the fake egg. I know the exact wording because I could understand him. Later I was also able to speak it, but things happened before that.

Harry Potter asked me out as his date to the Yule Ball! I swear I jumped him then even though I knew he was going to ask me. It was just... hearing Harry speak was so special to me then, even now it still is. I was the only one he talked to for years, and even then it happened on the rare occasions we were alone.

"Gin," he had said, his soft and deep voice had me shiver and I nearly dropped my book. I tried hard to stay calm so he would not suddenly stop. "Gin, I would love to go to the ball with you." I melted right there. "Would you honor me with your company?" And then I combusted. I don't think you can imagine what this voice did to me. Merlin...

Of course I failed to answer instantly but Harry was by now used to my eyes glazing over when he talked to me. He told me I had such a dumb expression it amused him to no end. Eventually I snapped out to it, but still didn't answer. I just threw myself at him and squealed before I shouted "YES!" loud enough to rupture his left eardrum.

Harry Potter was a surprisingly good dancer. I had feared he wouldn't know how to do it to begin with, but apparently he got private lessons from Minerva. I was never told. But judging by how proud she looked that evening, I guess she did. I was almost certain. I told my mother that I would dance the opening dance of the Yule Ball and was granted a new evening dress. Sadly I grew out of it already, but the black dress with emerald green accents is still one of my favorites. It went wonderfully with Harry's eyes and his dress robes. After the dance he took his jacket off, leaving him in vest and deep red tie. He looked so devilishly handsome then, I had to beat the girl away with a stick. Said stick was my wand but you get what I mean.

The dance was wonderful, It was like I was flying just above the ground with the music dancing around me and all that still connected me to to reality were Harry's arms. When the music finally stopped we didn't move away from each other, we just remained there on the dance floor gazing into each other's eyes. Eventually Percy ushered us away to out places but we didn't return to our seats. Harry and me floated on our happy cloud out of the hall and found our way onto one of the benches there. We just sat there smiling at each other. And then, then there was a mistletoe above us. I still can't thank Luna enough for doing that, I won't ever be able to repay her.

Harry Potter was kissing me. There hadn't even been any hesitation, neither on my part nor on his. We saw the mistletoe, we looked at each other and could feel that we wanted this, that we needed this. His lips met mine and reality crumbled away from me. All that remained was Harry and it was all I needed. His lips were hot against mine, applying delicious pressure against me, his arms drew me closer to him until I lay flush against him. The fire that burned there inside me for him boiled over, the heat filling both of us and my mind grew addicted to kissing him. I moaned into his mouth which elicited a growl from deep inside his chest. Gosh, I literally melted there. Hadn't it been for that stupid beetle (which Harry crushed in one fluid movement of the hand that wasn't tangled in my hair) we would never have parted on our own. We were breathing heavily when, both of us completely ignored the need for air. It was a wonder I hadn't fainted with the lack of oxygen and the speed my heart beat at. It was a beautiful evening which ended in fireworks from the twins. Everything was perfect.

But then came the second task, which I don't remember, seeing as I was at the bottom of a lake then, waiting to be rescued. But Harry was awarded zero point for this because he didn't wait for the task to start. The moment he found out I was gone he got into the lake with a bubble head charm so big it surrounded him completely and dove down. He eradicated every creature he encountered and blew up the structure I and the other hostages were bound to. All in all he was inside the lake for three minutes and the first thing I remember is waking up soaking wet and freezing cold. But none of that mattered because the very second I opened my eyes I closed them again as I felt Harry's lips against mine.

Harry Potter was used to revived Voldemort. I could feel it the moment he was whisked away from the maze. Felt his dread. The fear. The horror. All of it washed over me from Harry's side. Dumbledore tried to track him down but was to late. When the headmaster arrived int the graveyard Voldemort was already fighting Harry, who was bleeding heavily from a gash in his arm. They couldn't aparate out, I knew they couldn't, so I latched onto my connection to Harry and pulled. I willed him to be at my side, to let me hold him and push his pain away. I willed him to be here so he could erase my fears, so he could make me strong again. And then the chord that connected me to Harry snapped back, pulling Harry with him. An explosion of white swallowed me as space was torn apart to accommodate the new position I had willed Harry into. The air displacement created a sonic boom that shattered most of the windows at Hogwarts and the flash of light was intense enough to leave several unfortunate people blind for a day.

But Harry was once again at my side, I could feel him there before he even appeared. Together with him traveled Dumbledore and the lifeless body of Cedric Diggory.

 **HPxGW**

The summer after my third year was quite subdued. With Voldemort's return a shadow seemed to be permanently hanging over the world. The oppressive feeling that he was back, even at the Burrow we felt it. That the man that had killed Harry's parents was once again trying what he had once failed to do. Harry was plagued by nightmares. He blamed himself for Cedric's death and I couldn't talk him out of it. He pulled back again, stopped talking. I was so afraid to lose him... But one night, the night before my fourteenth birthday, I could feel Harry having another nightmare through his magic. I had enough, stalked up to Bill's old room, pushed the duvet of Harry's silently crying form and laid down besides him. I held him the whole night, stayed awake so I could comfort him whenever he had another nightmare. There I swore myself that I would end Tom, for all the pain he brought Harry, for all the things he took from him. From _us_.

Harry Potter was attacked by Dementors. I mean, of course he was. Why the hell not? We never really figured out how _she_ sent them here or how she even found us behind the wards of the Burrow but they did. Harry was attacked on his morning run through the village of St. Ottery and had to defend himself. The problem was, a muggle had seen him.

The ministry owl arrived before we even made sure that he was alright and before we knew it, Harry was in for a disciplinary hearing at the ministry. He was accused of using magic in front of a muggle (which he had) and doing so with no reason (which was bullshit!). The breach in the statue of secrecy was, according to the bow wearing bitch, immense. We tried to argue that he was attacked by Dementors but we couldn't prove it.

That led to a whole lot of bullshitting and bad press for both Harry and Dumbledore. The fact that the latter had claimed that Voldemort returned only made things worse. And when Dumbledore couldn't come up with a new DADA professor, seeing as the last one turned out to be a Death Eater in disguise, the Ministry decided to send one of their own.

Harry Potter was absolutely loathing Dolores Umbridge. And so did I. And the whole school. Aside from the fact that she looked like a giant toad and had these horrendous bow in her backcombed hair she taught us absolutely nothing we could use in defense classes. She also was hell bent on taunting Harry, which had no effect aside from her hair getting set on fire by his gaze alone. He got detentions for it. Writing lines with a bloodquill.

We then decided that the other students needed to know how to defend themselves. So we founded the DA, Dumbledore's Army. The headmaster found it hilarious and helped us hide it as much as possible. We found ourselves the Room of Requirements, which Harry and me thought was a broom closet at first. Hermione needed a lot of convincing but after Umbridge started to discretely insult muggle born, she came to us, presenting us a contract that would assure that no on talked about the DA.

And Harry would teach them. I knew he had amassed so much knowledge about Defense and even created his own spells, he would have been the perfect teacher. If only he spoke.

"I'll do it," I told Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna as we sat in the Room of Requirements.

"But Ginny," Ron argued, "You don't know half as much as Harry does." Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"I know," I said, "So I'll do the talking, Harry will do the teaching."

Harry, sitting next to me on the couch, squeezed my hand. I didn't have to turn to him to know that he approved.

It went well, actually. After the trustworthy were sorted out with Hermione's contract we began teaching them the Disarming charm and the Shield charm. It was me saying what Harry wanted to say and him demonstrating what I was explaining. I mean, I really used his words, they flooded my mind in a constant soft murmur and I just repeated them.

We taught them to fight dirty. Death Eaters wouldn't wait for you to bow or be ready. If you can dodge, dodge. If you can run, run. If you can't dodge, still don't stop moving. Protect those who can't protect themselves but don't get yourself killed, playing hero is only good for you when you can pull it off.

Harry was teaching a few fifth years how to make a portkey when we got the message that Dumbledore left the castle. Harry and me, we knew why he had left. He was hunting for soul fragments of Tom. But that posed a new problem for us. Umbridge had free reign now. Sure enough she passed many decrees that restricted our life greatly. The fat bitch tried to keep me from snogging Harry! Just because she doesn't get any dick, doesn't mean I shouldn't either! No, not to say I had sex with Harry. Really, we didn't. Really...

We got sporadic messages from Dumbledore and Sirius about the state of things. It was going slow, we still had no idea how many he had made and with Umbridge and her goon squad breathing down our necks we could hardly go out there ourselves. But things started to heat up when we caught Malofy's response to one of his father's letter. It implied that they were going to seek something in the ministry that was vital for Tom. We had no way of contacting the Order or get any help and if it was truly vital for Tom we couldn't let him have it. So Harry, me, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, the twins and Percy headed out ourselves. When we got into the lobby, a few guards were wounded and while Percy stayed behind to help them we headed into the direction they pointed us to. The Department of Mistery. I realized then that he was after the prophecy.

We rushed as fast as we could, Voldemort couldn't get hold of the rest of this prophecy Sirius told us about. If the snake bastard had found out that Harry was the one with the ability to defeat him that evening, I don't want to imagine what would have happened.

Harry Potter was dueling Voldemort.

I don't remember ever seeing something like this again. Harry was incredibly enraged then and blew up the whole atrium after Tom tried to get the information out of my head by trying to possess me. I still remember this feeling all to clearly. The sudden loss of feeling in my limbs, the cold that took hold of everything but my head. My head was on fire. I crumpled to the floor screaming in agony as my head felt like it would split apart. I could feel my magic shriek and bend at the intrusion of a foreign power. And while it only lasted about a second, it was the worst thing I have ever felt. And then Harry stopped it.

Tom was thrown back all the way through the atrium and smashed hard enough into a wall to have the part of the ceiling above collapse onto him. I could feel Harry's presence in my mind, radiating sheer hate through me at Tom. It was enough to bodily throw him. But Harry wasn't through with him yet. He transfigured the rubble atop Tom into fire, I didn't even know one could do that, and then flash froze everything in front of him. Even the fire. And even though the room temperature dropped dangerously low and ice started to form in my hair, I wasn't cold. The shock wave created by the magic blew everything around us away. I walked up to where Harry was standing, a mask of fury etched into his face, and warped my arms around him.

"It's okay," I told him, "Let me handle the rest."

What? Did you expect something like "Leave him be?" or "You aren't like him?" Well fuck no. I wanted a piece of the snake bastard just as much as Harry did.

When Harry relaxed I could feel the power shift and when he gazed into my eyes and drew me into a kiss I was overflowing with pure power. Harry told me later that my eyes took on a golden glow as I stalked up to the crystallized Dark Lord. A wave of my wand vanished the ice and before Tom could even hit the ground he was imprisoned in a huge bubble of water that floated a few feet above the ground. He was screaming and raging, waving his wand frantically around in a mute tantrum inside his prison. And then I compressed the water. Slowly and steadily the ball of water grew smaller and Tom stilled more and more as the water crushed down around him. His fingers began to bend at odd angles and his eyes were pushed back into his skull. A hand on my shoulder prevented me from transforming Tom to nothing but a gob of bloody flesh. Harry shook his head in a way to playful manner for the mood in the atrium and laced his fingers with mine. Then He raised his hand and the water vanished. Tom was still suspended midair, bleeding heavily.

We couldn't kill him yet, he would only find another host and we would loose sight of him. So Harry slammed his still floating form into the ground. The floor shook and windows shattered as Tom was driven 12 feet into the marble floor of the Ministry.

 **HPxGW**

After it got out that Umbridge tried to use the Cruciatus on students she was suspended from her position both as teacher and as undersecretary. Dumbledore, Harry, Sirius and me had a long talk about proper restraint when facing immortal foes and tried to think of a new defense professor. Surprisingly Snape got the position. But that left us without a potions master. So Dumbledore announced that he would need Harry's assistance to convince an old colleague of his to return to Hogwarts late that summer. The old fool seriously thought I would let Harry go alone. Hah! As if!

Harry Potter was sixteen years old when he told me he loved me. It was on my fifteenth birthday actually. I was sitting outside in the orchard, playing with a little fox that had approached me when I felt him watching me. I didn't turn around however and waited for him to do something. It took about twelve minutes of staring and uncertainty before he walked up to me and sat down. His blank mask instantly slipped and he looked kind of uncertain, with so many emotions rolling of him I could barely tell what was going on.

Now, to understand this, you have to know that the concept of love was entirely foreign to Harry. They way he grew up, affection was not something he came into contact with. Yes, we kissed before and yes, we snogged rather intensely, but for someone who finally understood how great of an emotion love truly was, it was far from easy to admit it to oneself. Harry didn't have problems with admitting it to me, but to do that he would have had to accept that I would become his greatest weakness, besides being his greatest strength. His emotional apathy and his ever persistent silence were all but defense reactions to show that he wasn't weak, that he was untouchable. But admitting to loving someone would make him human, take away his distance to the pain. But Harry decided then that he didn't care about that. I could feel the change wash over me as his uncertain gaze turned fierce.

"Gin," he said, voice ever so slightly raspy and deep, "I've known you for four years now and in all this time, no one ever grew as important to me as you did." He shook his head, black, messy hair swishing around. "Important is to little of a word to describe what you mean to me, what I would do for you. I... I cannot imagine a life without you in it. It would just be me, alone, blank faced silent creep from Slytherin. But you... with you I've become so much more, you took me to heights I couldn't even imagine before. And so I- I-..." He took my hand in his as his voice grew quiet. I leaned forward, wanting to hear so desperately what he had to say.

"I love you, Gin. With all my heart, with all of my being."

The emotion flooded me as if a dam had broken. I didn't even get flustered, I just turned my head and brought my forehead against his and stared intensely into these beautiful green eyes.

"And I love you, Harry. I am yours as you are mine." I kissed him softly and pulled back. His eyes fluttered. "And don't you forget it." And I kissed him again, far longer, far more passionate this time. The sun had long since set when we returned hand in hand to the Burrow.

The fifth year was strangely normal, compared to the ones before. Aside from Harry and me occasionally hunting down Horcruxes (or so they were called) with Dumbledore and Sirius, everything was as it should have been. But we noticed that the other Slytherins became nervous. Something was going on and Snape couldn't get one of them to talk. Hermione had seen Malfoy hang around the Room of Requirements but we never caught him. Not before it was too late, anyways.

We notice things seemed... off in the castle. The corners seemed darker, the sky ever so slightly gray, the food wasn't as good anymore. It was ridiculous. But just as everything seemed to be quiet and peaceful for once, Hogwarts was attacked. From the inside. Death Eaters suddenly appeared within the castle walls. Their goal: Kill Dumbledore.

And they... succeeded.

The Dark Mark hung in the stale air above the courtyard. In its center... the dead body of Albus Dumbledore, leader of the light.

 **HPxGW**

We had to leave. With Dumbledore gone it was only a matter of time before Tom and his goons overthrew the ministry. There was yet a horcrux left and we had no idea how to find it. But the mood was lightened considerably when it was time for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Mom was fussing all morning, trying to get me into the damn dress. I really didn't want to wear it - until Harry came up behind me, pulled me close and whispered into my ears that I looked _delicious_ in it.

Merlin, I swear he'd have me melt with his eyes alone.

I snogged the living daylight out of him until Fred decided to come into the kitchen before I could get into Harry's pants.

No tact, the man has.

We danced the whole evening through, I even missed Bill kissing Fleur and sealing the bond, but hell if I cared then. But of course the magic of the evening left us when we received a patronus from Kingsley, stating that the ministry had fallen. And not five seconds later, the wards shattered like glass. Everything went down so fast I barely had time to curse twice before Harry aparated us straight into the middle of London. Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna showed up not twenty minutes later in Grimmauld Place where Sirius had awaited us.

Now we were on the run, I only hoped that mom and dad got out alright, that my stupid brothers managed to get them out alive. Tension was lifted when Bill's patronus had them all accounted for in his cottage. And then we set out on our hunt for the last rotten piece of soul that was left out there before we could grind moldy shorts into the ground once more, at least six feet under.

Getting to the cup was not easy, we had, after all, no idea where it was. We found out that it had been in Albania at one point so we headed there. The traces of dark magic there were so faint, it was long gone already. Sirius thought it might be with one of his followers so we began hunting down mansions and hideouts of Voldemort's staunchest supporters. We ruled out Malfoy manor because we knew that Voldemort was hiding there. He and that bastard Draco Malfoy. But in no hideout or treasure chamber it ever appeared. We were just about to give up when Remus brought word from Bill, suggesting that it might be in one of the vaults in Gringotts.

So we had to break into the biggest bank in all of the wizarding world, which was guarded by dragons and nasty goblin magic. I gathered that the dragon would be no problem, Harry could just talk it into submission, but how we should get past old blood magic and goblin runes... It seemed pretty hopeless until Ron suggested overloading them. Usually no one would have enough power to do that but me and Harry? We could probably blow up the whole bank, dungeons included. We were lucky to be informed by Snape that it was most likely Bellatrix's vault were the goblet was hidden, having gleaned such from a conversation he had overheard. Tom had apparently noticed that we took most of them out.

Harry Potter was riding a dragon out of Gringotts. It was bloody awesome and had the dragon not been killed as we approached Hogwarts as the siege began, I would have kept Roger (as I named him) as a pet. Hagrid and Charlie would have been delighted. With all the Horcruxes destroyed we prepared to finally kill Tom once and for all.

But it wasn't that easy. I had never been more scared in my life. Never. And it happened all so close to our goal...

After I was left in the school to find the diadem we didn't know existed as Harry went to take out Nagini (the newly created Horcrux), the wards suddenly shattered around the castle. All hell broke loose as the death eaters began marching over the bridge towards the entrance hall. Spirits dropped to a new low.

"Calm down! Calm down, everyone! I said **CALM DOWN!** "

The sudden boom in McGonagall's voice had most students freeze on the spot. The headmistress strut through the entrance hall with a scowl of fierce determination etched into her features. I had just set the room of requirements on fiend-fire and now stood awkwardly admits the students. Thankfully, they didn't really notice me though I saw a few former classmates glance oddly in my direction.

"This is _our_ school!" she snarled with bared teeth and more fire in her eyes than in the room of requirements. "And a phoenix will freeze to death before we let it be taken by some bloody darkside _wankers_!"

With a powerful wave of her wand, knights of stone and iron dropped from the ceiling and began marching out into the courtyard, fighting off the approaching Death Eaters. The staff followed soon after. Morale flared to live again and I saw most of the DA members battle outside when I hurried though the halls to meet with Luna and Neville.

I ran into Ron and the twins, fighting Bellatrix, when a wave of green light followed by a sonic boom crashed through the window. I could feel my heart ache. Something had happened to Harry!

And I hated being right about it.

The fighting came to an abrupt stop as the barrage of spellfire from the forbidden forest ended. The minute of relief that followed was short lived when we saw what appeared to be the full force of Voldemort's followers cross the bridge to enter the courtyard. They were lead by Hargrid, chained by heavy cuffs of iron and a dozen wands in his back. He was carrying something. Someone. And in my heart I knew that it was Harry. Because I could feel him there. But... it was wrong.

I could still tell that it was him, that this must be Harry but there was nothing coming from him. No thought, no feeling, nothing. As if he was dead. The wave of dread and agony that hit me then was unrivaled by everything that had happened before.

The death eaters pooled into the courtyard like a wave of black blight. They parted, letting a battered but sneering Voldemort step forward. He said not a word, staling up and down the line of students and teachers, eyeing each and everyone hatefully but triumphantly. Suddenly he whipped out his wand and pointed it at Hagrid, whom I could see sob stoically. The bundle, the person was ripped out of his hold and thrown before us.

Harry Potter was dead. I had known before but to see his lifeless green eyes stare blankly into nothing, it hit me. I snapped entirely. While the students had fallen silent in horror and sorrow, I screamed in rage, in anguish and pain. Harry was still there, with me, his magic was all around me, flooded though me when I stalked out of the crowed to meet the man that had caused so much pain.

He opened his mouth to goad me, mock or whatever the wanker wanted but he never got the chance. His legs were served at the knee before he could even blink. The pained outcry was swallowed by a massive ball of fire that washed over him. But Tom had been better prepared than he had been at the ministry.

He left the inferno unharmed, which could not have been said for any of the death eaters behind him, and stood on strangely beautiful legs made from silver. The first killing curse he fired I blocked with a shard of jagged earth. The second I blocked with the whimpering form of Wormtail, the force of the curse disintegrating him. Neither I nor Tom even batted an eye. A beheaded the snake of tone he conjured and answered with a lightning strike at his position, all the while walking forward.

Tom snarled as he was forced a step back but his eyes widened when I halted besides Harry. The glimmer in his eyes told me that he was about to mock me, but I grinned at him, got down on my knees and kissed Harry full on the lips.

So... it would have been nice if that could have been called a magical moment but it was not. You could not imagine how much it bloody hurt to force the soul and magic of one of the most powerful wizards into a body that head been dead for minutes. I nearly passed out and it wasn't even over! For two weeks after that shit I had to take healing potions for my throat because the raw amount of magic that was rebuked from the soulless body burned my vocal cords to crisps.

But, seeing Tom loose his shit when Harry suddenly exploded onto his feet and disemboweled the wanker was worth every nasty potion I had to swallow. Tom's end was also far from a climax to the war. It was no white light against dark light or some fancy explosion. It was just his midsection exploding in a show of gore before he spat blood and simply fell over dead.

I can safely claim that there was no sound for a solid thirty seconds after he fell. No one dared to make a noise to see if the Dark Lord would rise again but he didn't. The bastard lay in his own guts (and probably piss), dead forever after. The wave of exhaustion caught me the moment everyone began cheering the lungs out of there torso's. It was finally over and as long as I didn't have to remove all the carnage that had been left behind, I was absolutely content with that. Harry on the other hand wasn't. His brush with death had made him... _needy_ for a celebration of life. And I complied.

Twelve times.

Safe to say I did not walk down the stares of the Gryffindor Tower without help and my mother looked absolutely scandalized but hell if that wasn't worth it, Because apparently, Harry Potter was some sort of sex god. Merlin and Morgana I needed a slave for my privates in addition to more than a few cooling charms... And something like that got me addicted. One might have wondered if I was some kind of masochist... Which I was not!

 **HPxGW**

Harry Potter was my husband. My one and only, personal hero. Oh, and he made me scream his name all night, so I got that going for me. The wedding was (of course) at the burrow and wouldn't have happened if dad hadn't put his foot down and told my mother that I was no longer a little girl. I was glad to have his full support, though he did ask of me and Harry that we'd cut the... love making, as he phrased it, a bit back as long as we were here. Apparently, I was loud. Well, someone had to compensate for Harry after all.

Even with the pensive I can not remember the vow I gave but Harry's I would remember even if everything would have been obliviated out of my mind.

"Ginny," he had said, the whole of the guests deathly silent because most of them heard Harry's voice for the first time, "Ever since I first met you, I knew that you were different. How you didn't get sorted into Gryffindor I do not know, because you are the bravest witch out there, the most caring person I could think off and understand me better than anyone else. We share this bond, this connection, our lives and souls. But even that only goes so far. So know, Ginny Potter, that I am yours, truly and forever, as long as were still draw breath and even beyond."

Now that I think about it, I never said any kind of vow. Harry's had me so itching to kiss him, I did just that. In the end no one seemed to care and Ron of course forgot the moment the cake was served.

This day, our wedding, has been seven years ago. Me and my trusty pensive have decided to write this down for our children to read or to simply keep it. Well, we do only have one daughter at the moment but, you know your father Lillian, he is _very_ energetic. And I hope you cringed reading this, I really do. Hah! I bet you can't even look him in the eyes anymore! Well, if you do have a sibling by then, don't spoil him. Your father already spoiled you too much.

Harry and me, we live our lives quietly now. Well, as quietly as it gets. War heroes and all that. But Harry, as he is currently probably teaching in Hogwarts, had never really changed out of the quiet boy I met. He still does not talk all that much with anyone outside of the family but his confidence is there and his students love home for it.

Me? Well shit, you caught me. Fine, I'm at Hogwarts as well. Someone had to be there after Madame Pomfrey left.

How I have time tow rite this? Lay off, the teachers keep the students safe and all I am healing recently are quidditch injuries. Well and Harry, when he risked his neck to intervene in a Hypogriff attack or chased off a stray gaggle of dementors.

Sadly Harry and me lost a great deal of the power we had in the war. We do think that this was _the power he knows not_ but we can never be certain. So if you do read this and Harry and me are throwing lightning around like it's nothing, be prepared for the apocalypse.

Did I write the whole thing for just that? Well, maybe. That important?

And just as I am writing this, Harry is stalking in here. He has this naughty gleam in his eyes and I'm sure the hospital wing will be... occupied for a while. Just so you know, Lilian, this is exactly how e got you so prepare for a brother!


End file.
